Often, a moment of time captured at Shibuya Crossing is the image used to represent Tokyo’s expeditious rush to industrialization. Others say Tsukiji-shijo (the largest fish market in the world) is the essence of the city, with its mad rush of buyers and auctioneers, and permeating smell of the sea. Many people consider the gadget, gaming, and manga culture as the face of Japan’s present-day capital. Centuries ago, Edo was a fishing village. While the Imperial family resided and governed in Kyoto, Edo flourished as the capital of the Tokugawa shogunate. Its march to progress has been unrelenting. Tokyo is a fascinating place where tradition and technology coexist and feed off each other. Read about the best Airbnb experiences in Tokyo, Japan, in this article.
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1. Create ink art with an award-winning artist
Instead of just admiring ink art of majestic Fujiyama, you can spend two and a half hours with a Japanese artist and learn to draw. You’ll start with a blank white space and end with a potential masterpiece. Use fine washi paper for practice and learn proper techniques of using brush and ink. Tomoko is your Airbnb host and art teacher for the day. She will start you off with the history and philosophy of traditional painting in Japan. Materials and snacks are provided, and you can even book an exclusive art session. Bring home ink art on fine paper board as your unique souvenir from Japan.
Book Tours : Learn ink wash painting with an artist
2. Discover fashion and style at Ginza
Hiroyuki offers a personalized shopping experience through the mazes of Ginza district, Japan’s most expensive real estate and premier shopping venue. If you’re in Tokyo, you need someone to show you where the fashion savvy buy their clothes. All fashion styles are represented at Ginza, and your Airbnb host will even help you define your style if you need his insights as a stylist and designer. Hiro will take you where you need to go, and he’ll show you places in Ginza that you wouldn’t find in a guidebook. It’ll be a most enriching two hours of retail shopping and talk about fashion trends.
Book Tours : Tokyo Personal Shopping/ Personal Shopper Trip
3. Learn to make a goshuin notebook
Chikako is a local artist offering travelers to Tokyo the opportunity to make their own goshuin notebook (goshuincho or honorable stamp/seal book). Temples and shrines are central to the Japanese way of life and offer foreigners a glimpse into culture and history. Your Airbnb host offers guidance and inspiration in a class that lets you in on the traditions of goshuin collections. You may choose materials and designs for a personalized goshuincho. Your host will accompany you to a nearby temple and inform you about etiquette in temple grounds so that you may use the personalized memento while in Japan.
Book Tours : Make a temple stamp book with artist
4. Pub crawl with seasoned event organizer
Solomon (aka Rob) is an event organizer living in Tokyo. He’ll meet your group at Shibuya Station, where you’ll learn a few essential Japanese words and phrases. Dinner and karaoke follows at Isakaya, and afterwards, the sky is the limit. You will be clubbing, barhopping, dancing, and drinking the night away! Solomon is a veteran Airbnb experience host. He has the uncanny skill of seeing to it that every person in the group is having a great time and making new friends. He’s passionate about his purpose in life - bringing people together and giving them the best night of their lives.
Book Tours : Three Levels Of Nightlife In Tokyo
5. Go clubbing in LGBTQ bars
Airbnb experience host Naoki, will happily choose the very best bars and clubs in Nichome for you. Shinjuku Ni-chōme is Tokyo’s Gay Shinjuku, with its small and intimate bars (15 people max), bistros, cafes and drag shows. Naoki likes to frequent Nichome’s warm and open community as he completes his university studies on sexuality and gender studies. He’s the best person to ask where to go if you want to feel at home in 2 Chrome. He’ll bring you to three bars and because he’s a local, you don’t have to worry about access. A night in 2 Chome is an eye-opening experience for those who want to know more about the local LGBT community and their lifestyle.
Book Tours : Discover LGBT nightlife in Shinjuku
6. Prepare food art in bento workshop
Washo Cook is a cooking studio, and Noriko is a passionate and patient cook who wants to teach you how to make cute character bento (lunch box). Instead of a standard lunch box with rice/ noodles, meat/ fish, fruits and/or vegetables, you will be preparing one that supermoms in Japan make for their children. You’ll be learning to cook, carve, and prepare ingredients in this Airbnb experience. Some ingredients are already prepared and you can use them with those you’ve cooked to create characters that look convincingly lifelike. After more than two hours of work, you will eat the contents of the bento box you prepared. Oishii! This exciting and fun workshop is open to children and adults.
Book Tours : Character Lunch Box (Bento) Making
7. Make sushi in landmark Shinjuku joint
Make five different kinds of sushi using the freshest ingredients. Learn sushi craftsmanship, culture, and history. You can tick off all these life goals with one Airbnb experience. Join Kazuki for an afternoon and make sushi the old fashioned way in Yachiyo in Shinjuku. Yachiyo was founded in the Edo era. This amazing experience brings you closer to an honored Japanese tradition. You may already be a fan of sushi, but learning to make it in Tokyo will make you appreciate it more. Your host is a generous and fantastic teacher, and you will have a marvelous time making and eating sushi.
Book Tours : Sushi-making Experience
8. Master night photography in Tokyo
So you want to take photographs with a proper camera in manual mode at night? There’s no better subject for this kind of commitment than Tokyo’s neon-lit streets. Take instructions on portrait and street photography from Guillermo, your Airbnb host. He is a photographer, animator, and filmmaker with a depth of experience that you can rely on. You’ll go to fun spots and find challenging subjects. Through it all, you’ll be expanding your perspective and leveling up on composition, subject, and use of light. It’ll be an interesting night as you take on Shibuya and Shinjuku with Guillermo (IG:@ future_vizion).
Book Tours : Learn Cyberpunk Photography with a Pro
9. Get off the tourist track on this bike tour
If you think you can ride a bicycle in Tokyo, then prepare yourself for the unexpected. Your Airbnb host for this laidback tour is Kt. She’ll meet you at the Meguro Parasitological Museum and introduce you to a weird vending machine. There are bugs and parasites there as well. The next stop is a mini-Mount Fuji, but that’s all we’ll say about it. Are you getting curious about this experience? There’s a doll shop as well, which for some could be more scary than weird. There’s a photogenic harbor that’s not accessible to the typical tourist. Sign up and have memories of Tokyo from off the beaten track.
Book Tours : One&Only! Weird Tokyo bike tour
10. Spend two hours on a phenomenal ramen tour
It’s a two-hour tour and you will spend most of it eating ramen. If that’s how you want to spend your time in Tokyo, then you’d better ask if Shotaro is available to host the Airbnb experience. Your tastes might be different from that of other people so tell Shotaro a bit about yourself. Your food blogger host will determine if you are a novice ramen eater, an advanced enthusiast, or the master/adventurous type, and he’ll then choose the restaurants you will visit. Japan’s ramen scene is very close to Shotaro’s heart, so much so that he has visited more than 200 ramen restaurants (so far). He’ll know exactly where you should spend those two hours.
Book Tours : Two Ramen Bowl Adventure & Shinjuku Tour
The old meet the new in Tokyo
Tokyo is a place where you can shop and eat ‘til you drop. It’s also a place where you can sit in solitude and walk amid nature’s peace and quiet. Add Tokyo to your list of priority travel destinations and book one of the Airbnb experiences listed above.
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